Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Q & A With Daria Snadowsky

Daria Snadowsky, author of Anatomy of a Boyfriend, was kind enough to answer some pretty nosy questions by e-mail. We enjoyed the book, and so can you! See below for an opportunity to win a SIGNED copy.

Allison: I have to ask, with all the comparisons between Anatomy of a Boyfriend and Judy Blume's Forever...Do you have any interest in writing a book for pre-teen girls? Even when I read Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret, there were some outdated bits, and that was...ahem...a while ago.

Daria: Now that you mention it, I think tween books would be an interesting avenue for me to consider. Middle school was an endless gauntlet of adolescent "firsts" that still scar me to this day, so it might be cathartic to tackle those topics in a novel intended for younger readers.

Allison: Were there books that particularly spoke to you during your childhood and teen years?

Daria: I swore by Judy Blume, especially Forever. Blume has an unabashed, totally candid way of conveying her characters' emotions that always made me feel less alone. I read her books not for escapism or entertainment but rather empathy.

Allison: What was the most challenging part of Anatomy of a Boyfriend to write? The most fun? (I know, I sound like a college application essay question.)

Daria: The most fun part was writing about Dom's first kiss. I still remember mine more vividly than I do just about anything else that has happened to me before or since, so it was fun reliving that magical moment in my mind and then translating it to Dom's world.

The most challenging part were the love scenes. Walking that tightrope between graphic and pornographic, between sensual and sensationalized, between honest and gratuitous was a constant struggle. Judy Blume's Forever remained my guide throughout. That the character of Dom was an aspiring doctor who loved anatomy allowed me to get away with giving more clinical, detailed descriptions that I might have been able to otherwise.

Allison: Any memorable ex-boyfriend stories you'd like to share?

Daria: On Valentine's Day of my sophomore year at Emory, my then-bf and I went parking in his car on the top level of Peavine Parking deck. Seconds later campus security came by and found us. They made us stand outside while they lectured to us how stupid we were being and threatened to write us up. It was reeeally embarrassing, and they were right it was a pretty dumb thing for us to do, but it did inspire one of my favorite chapters in Anatomy of a Boyfriend.

Allison: You've written what seems destined to be a YA classic...what's next?

Daria: Thank you so much! I spent most of my time since Anatomy's release practicing law, but ideas are always going through my head for new projects. I can pretty much guarantee you that if I should write again, it won't involve anything with a fantasy/supernatural element. A lot of people have asked for a sequel to Anatomy of a Boyfriend, so that's always a possibility.

Thank you so much, Daria! Now for the contest! Enter to win a SIGNED, hardcover copy of Anatomy of a Boyfriend before it comes out in paperback September 23. Here's how to enter:

1. For one entry, leave a comment below, telling me your favorite book as a teenager. Don't forget to leave your e-mail address so I can contact the winner!2. For a bonus entry, add an embarrassing story from your teen years.3. For another entry, blog about this contest, linking to this post, and tell me you did in the comments.

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY 11:59 P.M. EDT ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7! I will select a winner at random from all entries and contact the winner by e-mail. Good luck!

Enter me for sure!Favorite book as a teen...well, I'm still a teen, though I'm "technically an adult" at 18. LOLI was a huge Harry Potter fan, still am of course, so that would be a series I loved as a teen.

A seperate book though? I loved The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Looking for Alaska.

Oh gosh, embarrasing story when I was a teen? Let me think...

I was too shy to really ever do much, so I suppose I escaped embarrasment in that sense, and then I got embarrased about little things...it didn't really take too much honestly.

It wasn't too embarrasing, but we all had to run a mile freshmen year...and I was the last one finished. You could say someone else was, but they didn't even finish..so yes, I finished, but it's quite disconcerting trying to run with a bunch of 14/15 year old girls and guys who are sooo much more athletic then you are.

I'm still a teen here! My favorite book so far is The Wizard, the Witch, and Two Girls From Jersey.

Embarrassing things... I mess up so many times working at Dairy Queen and been there for a month! First time i made the Blizzard, I accidentally wasn't holding onto the cup properly that I dropped it and it splattered all over! Not only my co-workers were watching, so was the customer!

My favorite book as a teenager was probably "Forever" by Judy Blume, so I'm anxious to read Daria's book.

I had many embarrassing moments in my teenage years. One memorable event was the time my best friend and I invited our boyfriends over to join us in the hot tub at the house where she was babysitting. The parents came home to find us all in the tub and her with her top off. They delivered us both home to our parents and told them what we'd been up to!

Embarrassing Moment: Well this may not seem like it's embarrassing, but it is. I was driving with my dad and we were talking about going to the casino, and I'm not 18 and he said, "Well don't worry they sell fake IDs in the parking lot." and I was like... "REALLY?" because he said it with such a straight face... but everyone laughed at me. It was so embarrassing. And that's honestly the only thing I can think of.

My favorite book as a teen: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I just loved the Arthurian period books!

Most embarrasing moment: I had a good friend place one of those long flower pins that hold a flower to a lapel (they have the pearl at the end) under me when I sat down - I DIDN'T see it! I screamed so loud when I sat on it, and I couldn't sit for a few hours!!! There were a bunch of my friends who saw it happen - I was mortified - my friend thought I had seen it, and didn't think I would sit down! Ouch - I still cringe!!

1. My favorite book of all-time: This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen2. An embarrassing story... hmm, last year I was getting on the school bus when I tripped on the steps to get on. Everyone was laughing at me, and the bus driver looked at me like I was crazy. Wanna know what makes it even more embarrassing? I kept tripping after that (more minimal) but still I think I got cursed. 3. I've added your contest on my Contest section on my blog here: http://whatvanessareads.wordpress.com/contests-click-here-to-win-stuff/

3. Embarrassing high school story: I had a HUGE crush on this supercute boy who was a year ahead of me at school. At the homecoming dance in 10th grade, I finally worked up the guts to ask him to dance with me, and he agreed. Then, as we were dancing, I realized it would probably be a good idea to say something to him, instead of just standing there, so I opened my mouth and said, "Would you like to dance?" DOH. To his credit, he was very nice about me being a moron and just said, "That's what I'm here for."

I know it is going to sound crazy, but as a teenager I loved The Shining by Stephen King. I remember reading it, being scared, yet thrilled and learning to love reading. I even stood in line for a few hours to meet him at a book signing in Houston, but he left before my part of the line even got close to the store. Oh well...

My favorite book as a teen was Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I know that's not much of a teen book. But I remember it being the book that I remember the most and enjoyed the most. I still remember a lot of it actually which is pretty amazing for me. I never remember details in books.

I've seen a few reviews of this book and all of them were great. I really want to read it now =)

I loved anything by Judy Blume! As for an embarrassing story...I was wearing a new outfit, a skirt, and walking down the hall with the cutest guy in school behind me, and I tripped...and he got a great view of my undies. I still cringe thinking of that day!

I was walking down the hallway one day and there was something slippery on the floor (I have no idea what it was and I still really don't care to know lol) and I slipped and totally fell smack on my butt. Of course the hallway was crowded at the time and I was walking by myself without any of my friends so I had to get up by myself all incredibly embarrassed. Not a whole lot of people were paying attention but I did hear a few snickers. I'm pretty sure my cheeks turned like tomato red. Man that was a not so fun day.

One of my favorite books as a teenager (13 and 14 years old) had to be anything by Christopher Pike, I loved the "Scream" like horror. As for embarrassing, I was skipping high school one afternoon and called the attendence office to excuse myself, saying I was my dad. The secretary who answered was very polite when I called and asked me to hold for one minute. Soon enough, someone else came on the line, a voice a seemed to know. I stated I was my father and that I need to excuse my son for school. The person said, "No your not, this is his mother!" My mother had been called to the school because I had been missing classes to often, and she "happened" to be in the office when I called.

Lol, I can't think of one single fave book as a teen, so I'm just gonna go with Rebel Angels (book 2 of the Gemma Doyle trilogy) by Libba Bray! Oh, man- but I love Forever too, it's my fave Judy Blume book!

Hmmm... something embarrasing...I've moved around to a few different schools in my life. In one of them we didn't get seats to sit in for school assemblies, we just had to squoosh on the ground(in rows). Once I got some kind of certificate (lol, I don't remember what exactly it was!) and I had to go to the stage to get it. But, you see I have this bad habit of stitting in circulation-cutting positions, and we'd been sitting there for a long time. *insert ominous music here* My foot (or feet) were totally numb, and I couldn't move! I tried to get though, but I almost fell on someone behind me, but my friend got the message and helped me up! I finally limbed my way over to the stage but I was mortified- practically the whole school saw me!I'm not sure if I have any more embarrasing stories coz I tend to block them out, lol! =D

Mentioning my favorite book as a teen is going to give away my age, but here goes.

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (by the guy who wrote the 007 James Bond stuff - Fleming??) I started reading it while babysitting one night. I wanted to finish it, so since I had noticed that it was a library book, I stopped by the library several weeks later to see if it had been returned. To my shock and disgruntled disgust, the librarian informed me that she couldn't let me check it out because it was marked with an "M" - mature readers only. I ended up asking the lady I babysat for if she would check it out again so I could finish it. She did. :-)

Please count me in for the signed book drawing! I know a teenager who would love to read this with me - she's 13 and just finished Forever. Long live Judy Blume and her books.

Speaking of which, it's gotta be Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret? as my favorite. Books came and went like fads (I couldn't get enough of The Girls of Canby Hall series), but only Margaret stayed with me - really had an impact at a formative age. Like it did for everyone. Even though it was, as you said, a wee bit dated even when I read it.

Embarrassing story: OMG, it makes my heart sink even now. I was a freshman in high school (as begins so many embarrassing stories). I was on the student council, along with 30+ mostly scary upperclassmen/women. The object of my desire was also on the student council. We were sponsoring a carnation sale for Valentine's Day - $1/per flower, red (= love) or white (= friendship). The student council would go around handing out your flowers on Valentine's morning, so that you didn't have to endure the embarrassment of giving your crush a flower in person, especially handy if you bought the flower and signed the card "anonymous". I decided to be ballsy and sign the card: two flowers (one red, one white...a bit of mystery) to be delivered to my crush, who I had also had a crush on in junior high. Long-standing big secret. Well - he ended up being out sick on V-day. Meaning my flowers weren't delivered, but rather put back in the pile of other undelivered flowers and returned to the student council. The next day, the student council met again. My crush was still out sick, but the council president was leafing through the undelivered flowers and saw those that I had intended to send. IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE STUDENT COUNCIL, she said, "Oh, Amy, I see you tried to send flowers to Mark - let's see, one white and one RED? Shoot, he was out sick - did you just want to deliver them personally?" All eyes were on me. So much for my private I-really-really-like-you message for my crush. All I could think was that everyone in that room was whispering, "She thinks he's going to go out with her? Out of her league, definitely." Oh, the humiliation! I've only recently recovered. ;)

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